Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,438,849 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 40,132 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.55% of Zoetis worth $401,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $196,651,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.1%

ZTS stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $159.19. 1,375,164 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,569,728. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Zoetis's payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $212.13.

Zoetis Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.